How to write a Korean address

Updated October 7, 2026 · Based on Korea’s official road-name address data and the UPU address format

In short

A Korean address starts with the province or city and ends with the unit. In English, write it the other way round, smallest first: unit → building number + road → district → city or province → postcode → country. For example: 101-dong 1203-ho, 58 Banpo-daero, Seocho-gu, Seoul, 06652, Republic of Korea.

Korean order vs. English order

A Korean address is written from the largest area to the smallest: province or city, district, road and building number, then the apartment unit. For English, Korea’s Ministry of the Interior and Safety recommends the reverse order — the smallest part first.

Korean → English

서울특별시 서초구 반포대로 58, 101동 1203호 (06652)

101-dong 1203-ho, 58 Banpo-daero, Seocho-gu, Seoul, 06652, Republic of Korea

Order in English
#	Part	Example
1	Unit (building, floor, unit)	`101-dong 1203-ho`
2	Building number + road	`58 Banpo-daero`
3	District (-gu), city (-si) or county (-gun)	`Seocho-gu`
4	City or province	`Seoul`
5	Postcode (5 digits)	`06652`
6	Country	`Republic of Korea`

Get the official English address for any Korean address.

Convert an address

What -do, -si, -gu, -ro and -gil mean

Korean	English	Meaning
도	`-do`	Province — `Gyeonggi-do`
특별시 · 광역시	`Seoul` · `Busan`	Special and metropolitan cities — usually just the name
시	`-si`	City — `Seongnam-si`
구	`-gu`	District of a city — `Gangnam-gu`
군	`-gun`	County — `Gapyeong-gun`
읍 · 면	`-eup` · `-myeon`	Town and township in a county
대로 · 로 · 길	`-daero` · `-ro` · `-gil`	Boulevard, road and street — `58 Banpo-daero`
동 · 리	`-dong` · `-ri`	Neighborhood and village — used in the old lot-number address

Tip-dong has two meanings. After a name it is a neighborhood (Banpo-dong); after a number it is an apartment building (101-dong). The English road-name address leaves the neighborhood out, so a number with -dong is the building.

Apartment, floor and unit numbers

Korean	English	Also seen
101동 1203호	`101-dong 1203-ho`	`Bldg 101, Unit 1203` · `101-1203`
1203호	`1203-ho`	`Unit 1203` · `Apt 1203` · `#1203`
10층	`10F`	`10th Floor`
지하 1층	`B1`	`B1F` · `Basement 1`

Korean couriers understand all of these. The UPU address guide for Korea recommends 101-dong 103-ho over the short form 101-103. On shopping sites, put the unit in Address line 2.

Road-name address vs. lot-number address

Since January 1, 2014, the road-name address (도로명주소) has been Korea’s official address system. The older lot-number address (지번주소), such as Seocho-dong 1583-10, still appears on maps and some documents. Both point to the same building, but use the road-name address for shipping and forms.

Sending mail or a parcel to Korea

Follow the Universal Postal Union (UPU) format for Korea: the city or province in capitals with the postcode, and the country on the last line.

UPU address format for Korea (Latin script)
Line	What	Example
1	Recipient	`Hong Gildong`
2	Unit	`101-dong 1203-ho`
3	Building number + road, district	`58 Banpo-daero, Seocho-gu`
4	City or province + postcode	`SEOUL 06652`
5	Country	`REP. OF KOREA`

TipKorea Post prefers incoming mail addressed in Korean (Hangul). If you can, copy the Korean address and add REP. OF KOREA on the last line for your own post office. Get the Hangul address with the English to Korean converter.

Shopping-site address fields

Example: 58 Banpo-daero, Seocho-gu, Seoul — 101-dong 1203-ho

Address line 1: 58 Banpo-daeroBuilding number + road
Address line 2: 101-dong 1203-hoBuilding and unit
City: Seocho-guDistrict — in cities with districts: Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si
State / Province: SeoulProvince, or special/metropolitan city
ZIP / Postal code: 066525 digits — keep the leading 0
Country: South KoreaAlso listed as Korea, Republic of

Phone numbers

Add the country code +82 and drop the first 0: 010-1234-5678 becomes +82 10-1234-5678.

When you need the address in Korean

Taxi drivers, delivery apps and many Korean websites need the address in Korean. Paste the English address into the English to Korean converter to get the official Hangul address, then tap Show large to show it to the driver.

FAQ

How do you write a Korean address in English?

Smallest to largest: unit, building number and road, district, city or province, postcode, country — the reverse of Korean. For example 101-dong 1203-ho, 58 Banpo-daero, Seocho-gu, Seoul, 06652, Republic of Korea.

How many digits is a Korean postcode?

Five, since August 1, 2015. Seoul postcodes start with 0, so keep the leading zero. Look up a postcode.

What do -ro and -gil mean?

Both are road names: -daero is a large boulevard, -ro a road and -gil a smaller street, often numbered from a main road (Banpo-daero 4-gil).

Should I write South Korea or Republic of Korea?

Either works. Shopping sites usually list South Korea or Korea, Republic of; the UPU mail format uses REP. OF KOREA.

Sources